STORM Fionn caused rail chaos this morning (Jan 18)for Haslemere commuters due to a fallen tree at Milford Station.

Network Rail received the first report that the Portsmouth to Waterloo line was blocked next to the railway crossing just south of Milford Station at 5.20am.

Services were cancelled both ways while the blockage was removed. Southbound services were restored after 9am but severe damage to the conductor rail meant northbound services remained closed while engineers worked to resolve the problem.

A Network Rail spokesman said: “We had reports of fallen trees on the line at Petersfield and Godalming but we had teams on standby and those were quite quickly cleared away.

“The fallen tree at Milford Station has caused quite a big problem, because it damaged the conductor rail on the up line.”

A South Western railway update at 10am stated: “Engineers working hard to clear the tree that has blocked the tracks and severely damaged part of the signalling equipment in the Milford area. Replacement transport is in place.”